Let Me Be There
by Raphael
Summary: I'm back, with another songfic! Once again, it's mostly a WildwingNosedive songfic song by Olivia Newton John. Enjoy! please RnR, too


First off, thanx to everyone for the reviews of my first song fic. I really appreciate what you all have to say and I'm glad you enjoyed the story. If any of you really want to try writing a full fic around the basic idea of "He Ain't Heavy", go ahead (although, a little thank you would be nice *G*).

Ok, here it is -- my second attempt at Mighty Ducks songfiction. I really need to stop listening to the radio in my car...I keep hearing songs that remind me of the Ducks. Once again, it's centred around the best bros in cartoon hockeydom (I can't help it...they just cry out to have fics written about them. You guys know what that's like!) Didn't start out as a prequel, but that's how it turned out...so, consider this to be a prequel to "He Ain't Heavy".

Legal stuff: I don't own the Mighty Ducks or this song or even Olivia Newton John, who sang this song. And what I do own would NOT make it worth anyone's while to sue me...

Let Me Be There 

__

Wherever you go, 

Wherever you may wander in your life, 

Surely you know, 

I always want to be there, 

Holding your hand 

And standing by to catch you when you fall, 

Seeing you through in everything you do. 

Wildwing looked down at the bruised form, laying on the bed. His little brother, his baby bro, so still that he almost seemed...

"No," Wing shook his head, "I'm not going to think like that. Nosedive IS alive and he's going to stay that way! I won't let it end like this, I just won't!" 

Wing tried to stop the memories from rushing through his head, but he couldn't. Over and over they played, like a summer rerun of the worst tv show imaginable. Over and over showing him how he'd failed his little brother.

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*Flashback to about, oh, 9 hours ago...*

"Wing, would you get off my back? It's just a small beach party, it's not like I'm planning a trip to Mars or something!" 

Nosedive had just informed his brother that he wanted to go away with Thrash, Mookie and some other friends to an all night beach party, up the coast. Wildwing was a tad hesitant to let his brother leave the relative safety of the Pond. While it had been 4 days since their last attack, Dragonaus and his goons had been staging nightly attacks for over a week, until their sudden withdrawal and pretty much everyone on the team was certain he was just saving up for some big attack. Everyone, naturally, except Nosedive. 

"Dive, I just don't think now is a safe time to be gallivanting around alone. Who knows when Dragonaus is going to attack again?"

"I'm not going to be alone, I already told you that!"

"Mookie & Thrash are not the same as having...", Wildwing didn't even get to finish the sentence, Nosedive knew exactly what he was going to say and said it for him.

"...me there with you. Or one of the other team members." Nosedive looked as his brother, wishing desperately that, for once, Wing would stop acting like a parent and just act like a brother. "Bro, you can't babysit me 24 hours a day! In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not the little kid you dragged here from Puckworld! I've grown up a lot and I'd like to be treated more like a grown up!"

Wing looked at his younger brother, knowing at least part of what he'd said was true, even if Wing didn't want to admit it. But something else Dive had said was what caught his attention, overshadowing Dive's pleas to be treated like an adult. 

"Wait, I "dragged" you here? Little bro," he emphasized those words, "you wanted to come with me as much as I wanted you to come. And I'd take you a little more seriously as an adult if you hadn't put those pieces of white Gummi worm in Mallory's rice at dinner, not three hours ago!" 

Nosedive almost started laughing as he remembered Mal's reaction to what she thought were maggots in her rice. The look Wildwing was giving him, however, snapped him back to the current matter at hand. "It was a harmless joke, bro. What, are you going to ground me from going to the party, just because of that??"

"No, I'm going "ground you", as you put it, because of your attitude. Just because you turn a certain age does not automatically mean you're an adult, Nosedive. Your behaviour speaks volumes for your maturity, and, from where I'm standing, you haven't progressed much past the pre-teen stage, bro. Maybe Canard was right about not bringing a kid along. When are you going to REALLY grow up?" 

Did you ever have one of those "Oh, shoot, wish I hadn't said that?" kind of moments? Well, that's exactly what went through Wildwing's mind at that moment; as soon as he said it, he regretted it. Despite Nosedive's belief that he was old enough to go partying, Dive WAS still a kid. A kid that had been thrown into an adult role, and had grown some because of it...but a kid nonetheless.

Nosedive took Wing's verbal hit just like a kid, however. He started blinking rapidly, trying to force back the tears. 

"Maybe you're right, bro," he said in a voice so quiet that it frightened Wildwing, "maybe I shouldn't be here. Would that make you happier, Wildwing? To never have to worry about what I'm doing or where I'm going ever again?"

Wing took a deep breath to calm himself down. Truth be told, at this point, he was madder at himself than he could ever be at Nosedive. Dive, unfortunately, completely misinterpreted Wildwing's momentary silence.

"Fine. If that's the way you want it, big _brother_, " Wing flinched hearing Dive say the word 'brother' with so much venom in his voice, "..if that's really how you want things, I am OUTTA here!" With that, Dive turn and headed for the door, his pace growing more and more rapid the closer he got to the door.

"C'mon, big bro," he thought, "please...tell me it's not true. Tell me you don't want me to leave. Please! You said you'd always be there for me! Don't let me down now." 

Wing watched his brother, shocked, trying to find the right words to say...the right words to keep his brother from leaving. But, for once, words failed him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear Canard's voice saying "That kid needs to learn that he can't always get his own way, and that temper tantrums won't work. Hold your ground, Wildwing. He'll come back when he's cooled down."

So, Wildwing made one of the worst mistakes of his life. He listened to that voice. He let his younger brother leave. It was a mistake they would both regret.

* End flashback *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wildwing gently took Nosedive's hand in his, fighting back tears. If only he'd said something, if only Nosedive had not left, if only they hadn't argued...if...if....if.......

__

Let me be there in your morning, 

Let me be there in your night. 

Let me change whatever's wrong and make it right. 

Let me take you to that wonderland 

That only two can share. 

All I ask you is let me be there. 

"Please, baby bro, give me another chance," he begged, "Come back to me...come back to us. Fight for your life, Nosedive...fight for us...".

He looked at the monitors again, waiting for them to show some sign that Nosedive was improving. The only answer he received was the steady hum of the machinery and the not so steady beep that had come to represent Dive's life. It'd been eight hours since they brought Dive back to the Pond. And in that eight hours, the only thing that changed in the infirmary was the time showing on the clock. Dive hadn't moved, Wing hadn't moved and the monitors showed no change in Nosedive's vital signs.

The others had pretty much given up trying to get Wildwing to leave, to take a break, even for a moment. Duke had been the last to try, about 2 hours ago...

----------------------------------------------------

* cue flashback *

"Come on, Wildwing," Duke implored, "I'll stay with Nosedive. Why don't you go get something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Coffee, then?"

Wildwing just shook his head, staring down sadly at his brother. He reached down and gently brushed the hair off of Dive's face, grimacing as his fingers touched the dried blood on the ends of Nosedive's normally clean hair. His eyes seemed to focus on the blood...it had seemed like there had been so much of it. Without taking his eyes from his brother, Wing spoke to Duke. 

"Duke, I can't go, I can't leave him! I've already broken my promise to him, I can't hurt him any more! What if he wakes up and I'm not here?" Duke had no idea what Wildwing was talking about, but didn't interrupt. He could tell that Wing needed to speak. "It's my fault he's like this. What if he never wakes up?"

Duke walked over to Wildwing and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, Wildwing, so stop thinking like that. And the Kid's tough, tougher than any of us thinks. He'll pull through this. You have to believe that."

Wildwing didn't respond, it was as if he hadn't even heard Duke. He didn't notice Duke leave the room, either.

* end flashback *

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"Baby bro, I am so sorry for putting you through this. If I could take your place, I would. If I could take back what I said, I would. You know that. Please, Nosedive, give me the chance to make this up to you! Just come back to me and, I swear, things'll be different. Whatever you want, you got? That camping trip...just the two of us? You got it. Comics? Tacos? Whatever...just, please...don't give up on me, Dive." 

His vision blurred, as his eyes filled with more tears.

"I love you, baby bro."

__

Watching you grow 

And going through the changes in your life: 

That's how I know I always want to be there. 

Whenever you feel 

You need a friend to lean on, here I am. 

Whenever you call, you know I'll be there. 

(author's note: this was the paragraph that caught my attention and made me think "oooh, songfic idea!")

As Wildwing sat, his mind became host to memories, recent and old.

---------------------------------------------------------

* Puckworld memories*

Their parents actually were worried how Wildwing was going to react to the news that he was going to be a big brother soon. Would he be jealous that he was no longer the only child in the family? They needn't have worried. Widlwing was so happy about the coming sibling that he practically told everyone he met that he was going to be the BEST big brother on Puckworld. When 'baby bro' Nosedive finally arrived, it was impossible to tell who was prouder, the parents, or the older brother.

As time passed, it became evident that there was nothing to worry about. Wildwing adored & protected his younger brother, and Nosedive absolutely worshipped and adored his older brother. They were best friends, co-conspirators and each other's strongest supporters.

Wildwing couldn't help but smile as he remembered his parents telling him this, so many years ago. It had been hard to understand his parents' fears, then. It took their death to make him realize why they'd been so worried. They had both been the only child in their families (a fact that became painfully obvious when the young brothers found they had no family still alive to take care of them), they never knew it was like having a sibling; so they always assumed that the children would have a hard time adjusting to 'sharing' the parents. 

*End Puckworld memories*

----------------------------------------------------------

Wing looked down at Nosedive again, the only family he had left. They'd come so close to losing each other, after the Saurians attacked Puckworld; he did NOT want to lose Dive again.

"Duke was right, bro, you're tough...a fighter." More memories from Puckworld flooded Wildwing's mind. "Remember how much the other kids would taunt you, when you first were learning to play hockey? You never let them get to you and you fought back. You became a damned good player! Or, how about the months after Mom & Dad died? We both fought then, didn't we? No one was going to separate us, were they? Or...," his voice faltered, "..when we DID get separated in the Saurian camps. You fought back, stayed alive...even when I failed you. I shoulda been there, in the camps, with you, baby bro. I'm so sorry..."

Wing was crying openly now. Nosedive never once blamed him for the separation, but Wing had never completely forgiven himself. He'd made a promise to always be there for Nosedive and he'd broken that promise. The promise had been broken again today, when Wing let Dive leave.

Had it really been less than 10 hours ago that all this had happened? To Wildwing, it felt like an eternity. Another moment, another painful memory...one that the older sibling wished had never happened.

-----------------------------------------------

*cue yet another flashback sequence*

Wildwing hesitated, watching Nosedive rush out of the Pond. Rushing out because of him, because of a stupid argument. He was just about to follow when Drake One's alarms sounded.

"Teleportation energy," Tanya exclaimed, "and...it's...it's...it's just outside the Pond!"

"Dive..." Wildwing whispered in horror, just before bolting out the door. The rest of the team followed quickly. The sounds of battle rang in the street as Wildwing and the others approached. Nosedive had taken refuge behind a garbage can and was blasting away at Siege and Chameleon, across the street. Wraith was nowhere to be seen. As soon as he saw the others, Siege opened fire on them, laughing as they all scrambled for cover. Chameleon and Dive, however, continued to trade fire, as well as insults.

Chameleon shapeshifted into a Matador and began waving his red cape at Dive. 

"Toro, ducky, ducky, ducky...come and get me!"

Nosedive looked at him and shook his head, laughing.

"Oh, come on, compost-breath, you'll have to do better than that! Do I even LOOK like a bull to you?"

Chameleon thought this over and shifted back to normal. 

"You, duck, are just no fun." Another shapeshift, this time to "Hansel" (as in "Hansel & Gretel"). "Ach! Your mother rides a vacuum cleaner!"

Dive looked at Chameleon in surprise. He'd been expecting many things from Chameleon, but Bugs Bunny cartoons was a new one.

"Well, I'll give ya points for originality, Chameleon," Zing! Off went another puck. "But, my name ain't Witch Hazel."

Chameleon shifted back to normal once again and decided to try another tactic to draw the duck out of hiding. He glanced around quickly and saw that Wraith had now joined Siege and was keeping the other ducks occupied, meaning the plan was in place and it was up to him to get it under way. He grinned as he thought of the perfect idea to get through to Nosedive.

"Hey, duck!" he called out "Your brother's a wimpy loser. It's too bad he isn't stuck in Limbo, rather than Canard, huh? You ducks certainly would have been better off if you'd lost Wildwing. Can't imagine why Canard even brought him along. Why don't you just admit that hate your brother, too?"

That worked. It's one thing for siblings to insult each other, even hurt each other...it's a totally different thing when an outsider does it. Nosedive fired off a series of pucks as he leapt from his hiding spot.

"You take that back, you Saurian simp, or I'll come over there and MAKE you take it back! NOBODY insults my brother!"

Wing's head snapped up as he heard Nosedive yelling. Before anyone could move, Nosedive was rushing toward Chameleon, looking even more angry than he had earlier when he'd been yelling at Wildwing. In his anger, he failed to notice the driverless garbage truck that was now hurtling towards him, magically controlled by Wraith.

"NOSEDIVE! LOOK OUT!!"

Nosedive stopped short, hearing his brother's cry. In a moment's hesitation that would cost him dearly, he looked back at Wildwing, then looked up to see the truck. Instinct kicked in and he made a dive, trying to get out of the way of the hurtling vehicle.

The Mighty Ducks watched, as things suddenly seemed to go went in slow motion. Everything moved slowly: Nosedive turning towards them, Nosedive realizing what was about to happen, the brief moment where it looked like he'd gotten out of the path of the truck...

...and the moment when Wraith swerved the truck, slamming into Nosedive and throwing him through the air.

Wildwing was at his side, almost before his body hit the ground, Tanya a moment later. The rest of the team, realizing they couldn't do anything and would probably just get in the way, went after the Saurians, intent on revenge. They were to be denied that, as the trio teleported back to the Raptor.

Time passed swiftly again, as Nosedive was carefully brought inside. Tanya had to get Grin and Duke to keep Wildwing away, as she checked over their youngest teammate. After getting him as comfortable as possible on the bed, she stepped outside to see the others waiting, Wing still being held back by Grin and Duke. His heart fell when he saw the look on her face. As soon as he felt Duke and Grin let go, he rushed over to Tanya.

"Tanya, how is he?"

"Well, he's definitely been better," she replied sadly, "Some broken bones, a lotta bruises...somehow he, uh, managed to avoid doing any internal damage, so that's a good thing..."

Wing could tell by the hesitation in her voice that there was still something seriously wrong. "But...?"

"He hit his head, hard, when he landed, Wildwing. I just finished stitching up the gash. He's comatose right now. We..uh...have to watch him for the next while, to see if there's been any brain damage. The brain is a delicate organ, rattling it around inside the skull can really do some serious damage. I mean, like, that's why we wear helmets, y'know...". She stopped, seeing the crestfallen look on Wildwing's face. "All we can do is wait, Wildwing. I'm sorry."

Wildwing nodded grimly. "Thank you, Tanya. I'm going in to see him now, ok?" She nodded, realizing Wing needed to be with Dive as much as Dive needed him to be there. The team watched sadly, as Wildwing stepped inside to be with his brother.

* end flashback * 

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"Why did you go after Chameleon, little brother? I don't care what he was saying about me, they were just words. Was it really worth your life to protect my honour?"

__

Let me be there in your morning, 

Let me be there in your night. 

Let me change whatever's wrong and make it right. 

Let me take you to that wonderland 

That only two can share. 

All I ask you is let me be there. 

It had been 24 hours now, with no change. Despite Tanya's assurances that no change was actually preferable (when compared to 'a change for the worse'), Wing was not comforted. He was, however, exhausted and trying to fight off sleep as hard as he possibly could. The last thing he wanted was for Dive to wake up and for Wing to either be asleep or not there at all. 

His eyes snapped open as he looked around the room. He cursed to himself and looked anxiously at the monitors, noticing that they had changed. Then he looked at the clock, and saw that he'd been asleep for a half hour. He nearly panicked.

"Please, please let nothing have happened while I napped," he mentally begged. "Please!"

He was almost hesitant to look at his brother, he wouldn't be able to bear it if he'd failed Nosedive once again. To his surprise, Nosedive was awake, and watching him.

"Hey, bro," he said weakly, "didn't have the heart to wake you up, so I letcha sleep."

"Nosedive! You're awake!"

Dive couldn't help but smirk at Wing's proclamation of the obvious. "Yeah, have been for about 15 minutes. Did you know that you snore, even when you're sitting up and sleeping?"

Wildwing laughed and reached over to gently hug his brother. As he sat back in his chair, Nosedive looked critically at him. 

"Were you serious about going camping, bro? And the comics? And the tacos?"

Wing blinked in surprise. "You heard that? But I thought you were unconscious."

"I was, sorta," Dive replied, "but I did hear some of what you said, kinda like it was a dream."

"I'm so sorry, little bro...."

"I know, so am I. So, let's not get all mushy about it ok?" Dive grinned, "So, when do you want to go camping?"

Wildwing smiled, hugged his brother again and went to tell the team the good news. Nosedive settled in on the bed and watched Wing go.

"I'll be there for you, too, bro...always."

__

Let me be there in your morning, 

Let me be there in your night. 

Let me change whatever's wrong and make it right. 

Let me take you to that wonderland 

That only two can share. All I ask you is let me be there. 

All I ask you is let me be there. - as performed by Olivia Newton-John 


End file.
